Outside the window, twenty-six flamboyantly dressed young women surrounded Hero John.
They delayed his progress with soft words and sweet entreaties.
Inside, Lord Rainer gazed at the tall, handsome figure in the distance, his expression growing solemn.
“He comes with ill intent,” he whispered.
“He’s just another beggar,” a graceful, middle-aged woman beside him remarked.
She stroked the rare Cloud Beast in her arms and smiled dismissively.
“Just send him away.”
Lord Rainer lowered his head in thought.
After a long silence, he shook his head.
“No, this time is different.”
He stood up and paced by the window, his brow furrowed.
“The message from the Hero says he wants to discuss disaster relief… Disaster relief—that’s a heavy topic. If we didn’t have a perfectly clean history with him, I would suspect he was making up an excuse to kill me.”
“Since we’re strangers, there are only two possibilities. First, he’s using disaster relief as a front to line his own pockets. Those types are easy to satisfy. What I fear is the second possibility.”
“There’s a second?” the woman asked, looking puzzled.
“The second… is that he actually wants to provide disaster relief.”
Rainer took a deep breath, his expression becoming increasingly grim.
“Then the trouble would be immense! It would be a catastrophe of epic proportions!”
“How much trouble could it be? Surely it wouldn’t cost us our lives?” the woman replied, still unconvinced.
“It’s hard to say.”
Rainer felt a premonition.
“No one likes being forced to part with their money. When the time comes, everyone will have a sense of false hope. Without even needing to consult one another, they’ll form a united front of passive resistance and feigned compliance against the Hero.”
“If the Hero is smart enough, he must tear a hole in that resistance to ensure his orders are followed. He’ll establish his authority by intimidating the masses, forcing the cowards to cave first. Then, those early concessions will lead to more, until everyone eventually surrenders their weapons, grits their teeth, and pays up to fulfill his demands.”
“In the process… blood will surely be spilled. Therefore, this is actually a Fool’s Battle Royale. Whoever is the stupidest will become the chicken the Hero uses to Kill the Chicken to Warn the Monkey.”
Hearing Rainer’s explanation, the woman finally turned serious.
She ignored the pet in her arms and stood up hastily.
“Husband, what should we do?”
“Quickly, clear out the first floor. Remove every object that looks valuable. Have Little John change into some patched-up clothes… Arthur? Where has that little brat Arthur run off to?”
“He supposedly took a boat out to play a few days ago. He said he’d be back this morning, but I haven’t seen a sign of him.”
“Useless, absolutely useless! They say a hero father begets a brave son, so how did I father such a worthless creature? He spends all day eating, drinking, and playing with women. I have no idea who he learned that from!”
Rainer cursed loudly, causing the Lord’s wife to curl her lip beside him.
She peeked out at the group of young women in the courtyard and then glanced at the expensive wines on the table.
“Yes, how very strange. I wonder where he could have possibly learned it.”
“Are you being sarcastic with me?”
“I wouldn’t dream of it!”
“Nonsense! Are you still playing dumb with me?” Rainer gave his wife’s backside an affectionate smack and pushed her forward a few steps. He leaned in and whispered, “Go on, dear. And remember to put out that bottle of fake wine. I’ll go meet the Hero myself.”
***
Not long after, Rainer changed into simple military fatigues and went down to receive the Hero.
His gaze was immediately drawn to the little girl sitting on the Hero’s shoulder… What was that?
Sensing Rainer’s confusion, John took the initiative to explain.
“This is my companion, Poo-Poo. She’s a new species from the Demon Realm and is incredibly intelligent. I ask that you respect her and treat her as a person.”
“That’s right!” Liya chimed in, seizing the opportunity to stir up trouble. “Poo is the First Strategist under the Hero’s command! People call me the Little Zhuge of the Poo tribe, the Liquid Jia Wenhe! Human! You better not underestimate Poo’s wisdom!”
Rainer’s mouth twitched twice.
‘This Hero… actually kept a Poo-Poo as his advisor? What a genius!’
He didn’t take Liya seriously and instead focused his attention on the Hero.
After a moment, he proactively extended his hand.
“A pleasure, a pleasure indeed, Hero. I have long admired you from afar, though it’s a pity we never had the chance to fight side by side. Seeing you today, you truly are a hero appearing from the younger generation, haha.”
Before John could reach out, the Poo-Poo suddenly spoke up.
“Translation! ‘Hero, I’ve heard about you for a long time and know plenty about your exploits. Seeing you today, you’re really just a greenhorn, ga-ga-ga-ga!'”
Rainer nearly stumbled.
He stared at Liya in shock, waves of alarm crashing through his mind.
‘What on earth—this Poo-Poo can actually understand human speech?’
Following Liya’s translation, John, who had been feeling slightly embarrassed by the flattery, instantly calmed down.
He reached out his hand, ignored the awkward atmosphere, and said solemnly, “Senior Rainer, the disaster in the Thousand Rivers Territory is of grave importance. Let’s set aside all other nonsense for now. Today, we speak only of disaster relief and nothing else.”
“Very… very well…”
Rainer awkwardly led John inside.
When they reached the drawing room, the decor and furnishings looked quite simple at first glance.
John couldn’t help but feel a touch of admiration, thinking he had finally met an honest and frugal official.
Seeing this, Lord Rainer felt secretly smug, mentally praising his wife’s efficiency.
To his surprise, the annoying Poo-Poo spoke up rudely again the next second.
“Hard-boiled egg~ Hard-boiled egg~”
“Are you calling me?”
John asked curiously.
“No, you have hair.”
Liya gently tugged at the golden hair near John’s ear.
The Hero’s hair quality was truly enviable to a Poo—smooth, thick, and lustrous.
“Are you calling me?”
Rainer pointed to his own bald, shiny head and asked with a dark expression.
“Yeah,” Liya replied nonchalantly.
“You’re so poor. If you’re this poor, how can you afford twenty-six concubines? You didn’t just kidnap them all, did you?”
A cold sweat broke out on Rainer’s forehead.
This jelly-like brat had a truly vicious tongue!
Naturally, it was impossible for him to have kidnapped twenty-six concubines.
He was lustful, but not tyrannical.
Where was the romance in forced coercion?
Admittedly, he had used some minor “persuasion” to make them “voluntary,” but he generally followed the rules.
He quickly forced a smile to cover up his unease.
“Money should be spent where it matters most. I won’t lie to you, Hero, I only have this one little hobby. All my salary goes toward women. In a way, I’m exhausting myself for the sake of the Empire’s economic prosperity, ha-ha-ha-ha.”
“As I said, we only talk about disaster relief and nothing else.”
John gave Lord Rainer a superficial glance.
Although he didn’t press the matter, he understood that this Lord was definitely not as honest as he appeared on the surface.
Once they were seated in the council chamber, John went straight to the point.
Remembering the tragic scenes outside the city, his words carried a hint of interrogation.
“Senior Rainer, the entire Thousand Rivers Territory is suffering from the floods. Are you just going to stand by and watch the people under your rule lose their homes and be swallowed by the waters?”
“Oh, Hero,” Rainer lamented with a sorrowful face.
“You don’t understand. I want to send the city guard out to rescue people, but… sigh, their wages have been withheld for several months now. If I force them out to do heavy labor, I’m afraid… it might incite a mutiny.”
He thought this was an excellent excuse, but the next second, the Poo-Poo that he hated so much spoke up again.
“Translation! ‘The hard-boiled egg embezzled the city guard’s rations. They’re dissatisfied with him, so he’s afraid to send them out randomly. He’s worried they’ll ignore orders and take the opportunity to pillage everywhere.'”